The album was critically well-received but was not a commercial success.[1] The group toured extensively with drummer Roger Swallow and began recording a second album, but Matthews and Richards disagreed on the direction the album should take, Ronga left before the sessions were completed, and the band broke up.[2] Matthews and Roberts each then began recording again as solo artists.

In Search of Amelia Earhart was reissued on CD in 2001. Several albums of archive recordings of Plainsong have also been released on CD since the 1990s, including ... And That's That, comprising recordings made for the band's unreleased second album.

In 1991, some eighteen years after the original band broke up, Roberts encountered Matthews again when he was performing in a pub in Brighton, and the two decided to revive Plainsong. Adding Mark Griffiths and Julian Dawson, they recorded three albums - Dark Side of the Room (1992), Voices Electric (1994), and Sister Flute (1996) - before Dawson left to pursue a solo career. His replacement was Clive Gregson, once of Any Trouble and later Gregson & Collister. The new line-up then recorded New Place Now in 1999, before Matthews and Roberts recorded a duo album under the Plainsong name, A to B, in 2001. For their last album, Pangolins in 2003, Dawson replaced Gregson.[3] The band continued to perform and tour during the 1990s and 2000s. Plainsong's final album, Fat Lady Singing, recorded live in the studio, was released in 2012. Plainsong disbanded after 40 years and a final farewell tour culminating with two dates in Japan in October 2012.